I do not own Band of Brothers, this story is based on the characters in the Mini-Series, not the real men of Easy Company.
A/N: Hey guys! November is going to be a pretty hectic month for me with essays and preparing for my exams which are in early December so I might not be able to update as frequently as I'd like to :( But I will try my best to still get a couple of chapters out throughout the month! I am really looking forward to writing the post war chapters in particular! :D
As always, comment and let me know what you think :) Happy Reading!
You're not alone
Together we stand
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand
When it gets cold, and it feels like the end
There's no place to go… You know I won't give in
- Avril Lavigne, Keep Holding On
May 3rd 1945- Thalem, Germany
We moved onto a smaller town called Thalem next. Although, you could barely even call it a town anymore… it had just recently been bombed and nearly all of the buildings lay in rubble. The town's people had taken to the streets and were trying to salvage whatever they could from their destroyed homes. The whole mood of the town was somber and most of us remained quiet as we watched them work away depressingly. A few older German men had brought their instruments out into the town square and had started to play an equally somber tune as people dug through the wreckage.
Webster, Bull, George, Perco, Joe and I were silently perched up on the upper level of what used to be a store front. The bombing had left an entire corner of the building open, acting as a perfect watch point for us. You could see the entire town from up here.
"I'll tell you one thing about the Krauts." George broke the earie silence, taking a drag off of the cigarette between his lips. "They sure clean up good."
"Yeah." Joe replied drearily beside me. "All you need's a little Mozart."
"Beethoven." Captain Nixon interjected, coming to stand beside me.
"Sorry Sir?" Joe asked, looking up as Nixon moved his way to the front of the wall to survey the scene below.
"That's not Mozart." Nixon clarified for him. "That's Beethoven."
"It's so sad." I shook my head, looking down at the sad crowd. "They have nothing left… I wonder if they trust Hitler and his Reich now-"
"Hitler's dead." Nixon blurted out, cutting me off.
My eyes snapped up in surprise. Dead? How? Does that mean that the war is over?
"What?!" I breathed, seeing all of the men's eyes widening in apprehension. "When?"
"He shot himself in Berlin yesterday." Nixon confirmed.
What a coward... taking the easy way out.
What? Is he afraid that we'll do to him what he's been doing to the innocent people in his "work" camps?
"Is the war over Sir?" Bull asked the question that we were all wondering.
"No." Nixon sighed, gazing down at the street below us. "We have orders to Berchtesgaden. We're going to move out in one hour."
Jesus Christ… Even the Nazi leader killing himself didn't end this damn war. The Germans were resilient, I'll give them that.
"Why?" Webster asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "The man's not home."
Nobody replied, we just all sat staring ahead in shock at what we had just heard. The war should have been long over by now. The Germans were holding on by a thread here.
"I guess I'd better go grab my stuff then." I broke the silence, standing up to leave as the men around me did the same.
"Hitler's dead…" Joe repeated, shuffling along beside me. "Jesus Christ… never thought I'd enjoy hearing about someone's death so much."
"He should've killed himself three years ago." Webster whined, tailing us. "Would've saved us a lot of trouble."
"Yeah… he should have." Nixon mumbled, heaving a long irritated sigh. "But he didn't."
May 5th 1945- Bavaria
We were ordered to take Berchtesgaden as Nixon had said.
Bavaria was gorgeous and its luscious sky-reaching mountains gave no indication of any heavy fighting having gone on. The people were extremely friendly and welcoming and the rivers were a gorgeous crystalline blue that almost looked too beautiful to be real. It was like driving through paradise.
The war wasn't really a fighting war anymore. It was more of a competition to see which of the allied armies could liberate and pilfer more of the German army's buildings. We all had abundant prizes to send home at this point. I had even managed to snag myself a couple of solid silver candlesticks and some Gold jewellery to send home to my parents to sell for some extra cash. I didn't like looting, it was petty… but everyone else was doing it and seeing as the Nazis wouldn't be needing any of their stuff anymore, I figured why the hell not?
As we moved further into Bavaria we came upon blockade after blockade. We had yet to see any German soldiers but somehow they had managed to block nearly every road heading into Berchtesgaden before we got there. We spent more time sitting around on the side of the road waiting for the engineers to come blow away blockage in the roads than we did actually moving forward to our objective. If the Germans' strategy was to delay us and piss us all off even more- well, they were successful.
"Hey Liz… you want to read this one next?" Webster nudged me, passing me a worn book. "I just finished it."
"Sure, what is it?"
"Oliver Twist." He smiled brightly, handing me the frayed book. "One of my favourites so be careful with it."
Webster had been lending me books to read to pass the time for the past couple of weeks. I had no idea where he kept all of these books but he always seemed to be reading something new. He claimed that he needed to keep up on his readings or they would never let him back into Harvard.
"I can tell Web." I laughed, looking at the tattered edge of the book. "This looks like it's going to fall apart."
"I stole it from the Hospital." He smirked. "I guess the guys there don't really have the same appreciation for literature as I do."
"Yeah." I laughed, tucking the book carefully into my satchel. "Looks like they played hockey with this copy."
"Complete blasphemy." He shook his head, cracking open a new novel. "Ruining a legendary piece of work."
"The sun,-the bright sun, that brings back, not light alone, but new life, and hope, and freshness to man-burst upon the crowded city in clear and radiant glory. Through costly-coloured glass and paper-mended window, through cathedral dome and rotten crevice, it shed its equal ray." I quoted one of my favourite part of Oliver Twist, tilting my face up to the hot sun for effect.
"Ugh God." Joe groaned beside me, snapping open an eye. "Not you too Liz."
"Jesus Liz! You just recited that word for word!" Web exclaimed, ignoring Joe's comment. "I had no idea that you were so into Charles Dickens!"
"What can I say?" I laughed. "I fell in love after reading Great Expectations in grade ten."
"Dickens is just the epitome of monumental writers." Web beamed, cringing slightly as the men fired a bazooka round into the blockade in the middle of the road. "Why didn't you go to university after high school?"
"Too expensive." I shrugged my shoulders. "Plus, I really didn't think I would fit in with the people there."
"You would!" Web encouraged me. "You should really look at applying to Harvard when we get home… I could put in a good word for you."
"Oh here we go again with the Harvard recruitment thing." Talb groaned, slumping down against the truck across from us. "Please spare us, Web."
"As Herodotus once said, Floyd." I cleared my throat, smirking over at him. "The only good is knowledge, the only evil is ignorance."
"Ah for fuck sakes… what are you doing to my girlfriend Web?" Joe mumbled, receiving a sharp glare from Webster . "You've got her quoting old Greek guys and shit now."
"Where have you been all my life?" Web asked me in amazement, ignoring Joe's remark.
"Hey… paws off professor." Joe rolled his eyes, slinking his arm around my shoulder. "I don't need ya corrupting her any more than ya already have."
"There's nothing wrong with being intellectual." Web defended himself. "Maybe if you guys picked up a book once and a while you might actually learn something."
"I already told ya I like to read." Joe objected seriously. "Dick Tracy and Flash Gordon are some of the best books…"
"That's not Literature Lieb!" Web huffed, throwing his hands up. "Literature includes works of superior or lasting artistic merit… not comics."
"Ohhhh Lord… there it is!" Talb sighed jokingly. "Professor Webster strikes again."
"You know what… fuck you guys." Web rolled his eyes, picking up his book and getting to his feet. "I'm just going to go read over there in peace… Sorry Liz, we can talk later."
"Ah, I was just kidding, Web… don't get your panties in a wad." Talb laughed, nudging my boot with his as I giggled to myself at their stupidity.
I flinched as another huge explosion went off, sending bits of rock flying everywhere as the bomb hit the blockade. As the dust settled I noticed that despite the huge boom, the explosive had barely even made a dent in the colossal rocky barricade.
This is hopeless… we are going to be stuck here forever at this rate.
"It's hotter than Satan's balls out here." Perco complained, slumping down against the truck on the other side of Joe. "When do you guys think we'll be movin?"
"Yeah, I'm sweating my ass off." Skinny chimed in from the truck, shrugging his jacket off as sweat dripped down his face.
"Next person to complain about this glorious warmth is getting smacked." I laughed, turning my face up to the hot sun. "Every time you go to whine about the heat… think of Bastogne."
"True." Skinny sighed. "I just wish we didn't have to wear these OD's… they're fucking sweltering."
As if on cue, my legs started to sweat against the pavement, wetting the backs of my thighs against my clean OD's. It WAS pretty damn hot come to think of it. I hadn't really noticed until they started talking about it.
"Holy shit I don't know how much longer I can stand it." Perco continued to moan, completely ignoring my threat of a smacking. "It would sure be nice to take a swim right now."
"You bitching about it isn't going to make it any better Perc." Grant swatted him in the head for me, shooting me a small smirk as he slumped down in Webster's old spot. "How you holding up Liz? With all that hair and everything? You must be dying."
"I never did mind the heat much." I squinted through the sun to see him taking a swig from his canteen before making a disgusted face at the taste of the water.
"Fucking gross, tastes like boiled water... Hey, Joe, you got any of those strikes left?" he leaned across me to beg for a cigarette.
"Those things will kill you… you know?" I interjected as Joe passed him his pack of cigarettes. "You guys really need to stop."
"Not if this heat kills us first." Joe grumbled, wiping some sweat off his forehead. "And I'm trying to stop… I'm down to only one pack a day now."
"One pack a day?" I laughed, shaking my head at him. "You guys are going to be like ticking time bombs if you keep smoking like that."
"Oh… you love me." Joe winked, slinging his arm around me. "Me and my cigarettes."
"You're lucky I do." I smirked as he took a drag off his smoke. "But as soon as we get home, you're going to quit for good alright?"
"Yes Mother."
"Ah finally!" Grant exclaimed as Sink suddenly whipped past us on a jeep towards Major Winters. "I can't fuckin stand sitting here waiting any longer! If we don't get up to Berchtesgaden soon, everything is going to be already picked over by those ignorant, filthy, arrogant-"
"Jesus Chuck, slow your roll." Joe cut him off mid-rant. "We're gonna beat them up there."
"I couldn't even make a dent in the damn barricade with my bazooka… but somehow the French will manage to get up to the Eagle's nest before us." Grant mumbled. "Those Krauts sure know how to ruin a perfectly good day don't they?"
"EASY COMPANY! ON YOUR FEET!" Speirs bellowed suddenly as huge smiles broke out on our faces. "WE'RE SWINGING AROUND! TAKING BERCHTESGADEN!"
Finally. We are moving.
"THANK FUCK!" Perco exclaimed, hopping to his feet excitedly. "I am this close to melting to the ground!"
"And I am this close to shooting you in the head if you don't shut up about the heat, Frank!" Joe snapped light-heartedly.
"I don't like this… it's too quiet." Babe murmured beside me, his fingers tightening around his rifle.
The streets of Berchtesgaden were eerily silent and deserted. It was literally a ghost town. There were still Nazi propaganda posters hung everywhere but there was not a single soul in sight as we drove slowly and quietly through the town. The town itself was gorgeous, all of the buildings were well kept and polished. I could only imagine the sick son of bitches who used to inhabit the buildings here. They didn't deserve any of the glory.
"Alright men! Find yourselves somewhere to sleep! We'll be here for the night!" Speirs' voice echoed through the noiseless town as the trucks rolled to a stop. He was already heading off towards the opulent building at the end of the street before any of us were even off of the trucks.
Speirs was the master of looting. He must have had thousands of dollars' worth of prizes waiting back home for him. He could probably clear half of the buildings on the street before any of us could even make a dent in one.
"Well… we might as well find somewhere decent tah claim before everything is ransacked." Gene drawled, coming to stand beside me. "I'm not really in tah the whole lootin thing anyways."
"I'm with you." I smirked, watching Joe head off excitedly towards one of the tall buildings with my brother in tow. "Let them have their fun."
"So that's the Eagles nest?" I pointed up the mountains to a huge stone building at the very top. "That must have cost a fortune."
"Guess so, Yeah." He replied, squinting to see through the bright sun as we started to walk down the street.
"Hitler did seem to have a God complex." I rolled my eyes as we passed a huge Nazi banner hanging on the side of one of the buildings.
"That's one spineless God." He replied seriously, gesturing to one of the three story houses. "Let's check this one out."
"Alright." I grunted as I helped him pull open the heavy front door.
"Whoa…"
The inside of the house was stunning. The furniture in the front sitting room was made of shiny polished wood and burgundy velvet. A huge oak table sat in the centre of the room, filled with a lavish dining set and silverware. Leading upstairs was a huge wooden staircase which wound around to the upper level. The walls were painted a deep crimson and Nazi portraits and banners hang on almost every inch of wall space.
Someone 'important' must have lived here.
"Jeeeeesus." Gene breathed as my eyes fell upon what he was gaping at.
The main focus of the room was a huge glass encasement with a pristine SS uniform hung inside on display. I squinted to see the name on the jacket… Heinrich Himmler.
So that's why this house is so extravagant.
"I know you don't like looting, Gene." I cleared my throat, tearing my eyes away from the SS uniform in disgust. "But… these are the people that were responsible for the Landsburg camps. They didn't deserve any of this wealth to begin with…"
He raised a hand to stop me, as if knowing what I was going to say. "Don't worry bout me… take whatever ya want."
"Are you sure?"
"Ya… get goin before Speirs gets here." He laughed, picking a picture up off of the mantle and studying it as I got to work collecting the silverware and shoving it into my satchel.
"You're right… he's probably cleared out half the houses on the street already."
I had no idea how he did it but Ron could move fast when it came to clearing out houses. He would often have a whole house stripped bare of anything valuable before any of the other men even got a sniff.
"Joe's lookin a lot happier lately." Gene observed aloud all of a suddenly.
"Yeah." I smiled to myself, examining one of the shiny forks. "All of the anticipation the past week has really helped keep his mind off of the camps."
"That's good." he nodded, leaning up against the table as I collected the silver. "How're you holdin up?"
"Me?" I shrugged, stopping what I was doing to see him eyeing me concernedly. "I'm alright."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm alright Gene." I reassured him. "I'm just glad that we could help all those people back there."
"Me too." He nodded before pressing me further. "You seem to be takin all this fairly well Liz… even after the mess with… James. You sure you're doin alright? You can tell me."
The mention of James was enough to make the hair stand up on my arms as a shiver shuddered through me. I had been having nightmares about seeing him for the past week and a half, but I wasn't about to tell Gene about it. I didn't need anyone worrying about me… The nightmares would pass.
I needed to just put it all away. I couldn't dwell on him anymore.
"It was hard seeing him but… it's behind me now." I sighed finally. "I just want to forget about it… at least for now."
"That's gonna be hard tah do." He replied softly, his eyes holding mine. "As much as you don't like to admit it… what happened last week was traumatic for you. I think you're still in shock from seein him. I can see it in your eyes."
"You're right." I admitted sourly as James' face came to mind. "But I'm not about to let him control my life again, Gene. I already did that once before."
"Well if ya ever wanna talk, ya know where to find me." He shot me a small comforting smile. "I'm no shrink but I'm a good listener."
"You always were... Thanks Gene." I smiled back at him appreciatively. "You really are an amazing frien-"
The front door slammed open suddenly, startling us out of our serious conversation.
"Silverware!?" Speirs beamed like a child on Christmas morning, striding over towards us eagerly. "Good find Liz!"
"You can take half of it if you want." I laughed, shooting Gene an amused glace. I observed Ron humorously as he started scooping silver spoons into his helmet, which was already overflowing with loot. "Just help yourself Captain. I'm sure old Heinrich won't mind."
"Himmler?" Speirs exclaimed, his face scrunching up in surprise. "… Commander of the Schutzstaffel, Heinrich Himmler?"
"That's the one." I pointed up to the pristine uniform hanging on the wall, seeing him peer at it suspiciously.
"Did you pick a room yet Liz?" he grimaced, pulling his eyes away from the SS uniform. "I'll fight you for the master bedroom."
"Hey! Finders Keepers." I joked, shaking my head as he shoved some silver napkin weights into his helmet. "No, you can have the whole house if you want… The whole sleeping in Nazi houses thing is kind of eerie to me anyways."
"Really?" he cocked an eyebrow at me. "How so?"
"Just thinking about the number of people they're responsible for slaughtering… it creeps me out a little." I replied honestly, meeting Gene's worried eyes. I knew that he felt the exact same way. "I'd much rather stay in one of the smaller houses down the street."
"Well…" Ron sighed, scratching his head in thought. "Look at it this way guys… these Adolf-loving idiots won't be killing anyone else… ever. They'll be lucky if they ever see the outside of a prison cell again."
"How do you do it Sir?" I laughed as he inspected one of the candle holders closely.
"Do what?"
"Stay so composed all the time. You always manage to see the good in things, even when everything's gone to hell."
"Just call me Mr. Bright-side I guess." He shrugged, fixing his eyes on one of the huge Nazi banners hanging from the ceiling. "I just look at it this way… We won… they didn't." he paused, staring grimly at the banners.
"Come on… help me with this. I'm not sleeping in Swastika Manor. I'm easy-going but not that easy-going."
May 7th 1945- Berchtesgaden, Bavaria
"The car isn't going to run without water Tab." I mused, watching entertainingly as he drained the water from the radiator of one of Hitler's fancy Mercedes.
We'd been here for a few days now and most of the men had ransacked the majority of the buildings, finding things to toy with and keep themselves occupied with while we waited for the official orders to take the Eagle's Nest. Talbert had been experimenting on expensive cars for the past couple of days, to much of the company's amusement.
"She'll run." Talbert replied confidently. "I have to hand this baby over to regiment later today so let's hope she runs."
"I never understood why people refer to cars as women." I laughed, raising my eyebrows at him. "Women don't really resemble cars do they?"
"Helps us cope with temperamental vehicles." Christianson smirked, seeing the offended look I was shooting him. "Just like women."
"It's cause cars are a consistent pain in the ass to deal with." Talb interjected, catching my narrowed eyes. "But you can't live without one."
"Good save Talb." I laughed as he slammed the hood to the car shut, patting it affectionately before sliding into the drivers seat.
"She's all ready to go."
"AYYYYYYY!" Christianson called out as the car roared to life. "She still runs like butter! Told you it would work!"
"Ugh, men and their machines." I groaned, shielding my eyes from the sun to see Christianson frowning at me.
"Ugh… Women and their… make-up" he stumbled over his words, trying to think of something womanly to come back with.
"You got that right!" Talb chimed in, rolling his eyes. "You women spend hours lookin in a mirror…"
"You've known me for almost four years guys… have you ever seen me wear make-up?" I laughed, raising my eyebrows at them. "Not all women are the same."
"No… but it's the principle of it." Christianson shot me a small grin.
"The principle of it? Please do explain." I laughed.
"Well… women are always caring about how they look and all. That's why they put make-up on right?"
"Mmmhmm…" I narrowed my eyes at him, unsure of where he was going with this.
"Well men care about appearances too… that's why we like our cars to be good lookin."
"And this is one sexy beast of a car… I'm telling ya!" Talb insisted. "Come on Liz… you gotta admit she's a beauty!"
"God help the woman who tries to win your heart one day Talb…" I laughed. "She's going to be competing with a freaking car."
Loud cheers suddenly erupted across the town square and our heads snapped up to see what was going on. The men were all emerging from the buildings around us, whooping and hugging one another as they headed in the direction of the trucks.
What the hell is going on that's got everyone so riled up? Were we already moving out?
"COME ON GUYS!" Malarkey shouted, grabbing my hand as he ran past me excitedly. "Hurry up!"
"What is it!?" I laughed, allowing him to drag me along as the men whooped and cheered, running down the narrow streets towards the trucks. "Where's the fire Malark?"
"We're taking the Eagles Nest! Easy Company's gonna be the first ones in! Winters just gave us the go ahead!"
The doors to the Eagle's Nest were opened slowly and the men had their rifles out and ready… just in case. The house was deserted but you could never be too careful…. Most of the men were on their way up the mountain on trucks but I had chosen to run up with Speirs and a small group of the men. The adrenaline from the excitement of taking the Eagle's nest was more than enough to propel me up the hill.
I walked in carefully behind Ron as the men dispersed through the room, starting to explore. It was surreal to be in Hitler's home and not have anyone shooting at us. Who would have ever thought we'd be here?
"This place is gorgeous..." I commented, gazing out the large glass windows which overlooked the mountains.
"It's incredible." Ron breathed.
"Hey Liz! Come check this out!" Grant waved me over towards a painting on the wall. "Signed by the man himself."
"Who knew he was an artist? This actually isn't that bad…" I studied the picture carefully, making a mental note to show this to Webster.
We both jumped as a loud pop echoed through the room. My eyes darted around in panic and I sighed in relief when I realized that it was just Malarkey who had popped open a bottle of champagne. Any loud popping or cracking noises were not good for our nerves…
"Here's to him." Malarkey tipped his champagne bottle to Ron who was staring blankly down at a dead German officer on the floor.
"Here ya go Liz. Have some of that!" Malarkey pushed the bottle of champagne into my hands and I took a long swig, feeling the warm spread throughout my body. "Here's to winning the war!"
"Never thought I'd be drinking Hitler's personal champagne." I giggled as Joe popped open our umpteenth bottle of champagne and tipped it back. "Tell me... why does one man need so much champagne?"
"It ain't the cheap stuff either." he chuckled.
"Who knew Hitler was so hospitable?" Shifty smirked, plopping down on one of the armchairs by the window, overlooking the mountains. "God, ain't it gorgeous guys?"
"Here's to Adolf!" Talb thrust a bottle into my already wobbly hands. It felt like my skin was buzzing from all of the alcohol I'd consumed in the past few hours.
Most of us had lost track of how much we were drinking after realizing that we were going to go down in history as the company that officially "taken the Eagle's nest." It undoubtedly called for celebration.
"Thanks Mister First Sergeant." I saluted Talb lazily, winking at him as he rolled his eyes at my actions. "To what do I owe the honour of sharing such luxurious champagne with you Sir?"
"Smart ass." He smirked, plopping himself down on the chair beside Shifty as I propped myself up on the arm rest. Ever since Talb was promoted, most of us had been jibing him about it. It was all in good nature.
We fell into a comfortable silence, staring out the window at the luscious green mountain below us. Who knew that such a beautiful sight could come from something so ugly? If we hadn't of entered the war, we would have never been able to experience this splendor.
"It's over." Shifty broke the silence suddenly. "I didn't believe it before but I do now… this is gonna be over very soon."
"This feels like a funeral… for all the people we lost along the way." Talb chimed in sadly. "Muck and Penkala, Hoob, Julian, Jackson… they should have been here with us. They deserve to see this."
"What I wouldn't give to hear another one of Muck's sarcastic assed comments…" Joe added lightly, throwing his arm around my shoulder.
"They are here with us." I said softly, meeting his darkened eyes. "They see it."
"Yeah…" Talb sighed in agreement, swinging his legs up over the arm of the chair as we fell into silence once again. "I guess you're right."
I scanned the crowded room full of my friends, seeing the smiles on their faces as they indulged in Hitler's personal store of alcohol. I glanced down at Talbert whose hands resembled mine, still cracked and dry, covered in scars from our years of combat. His face was drawn tight with exhaustion as he tipped back the bottle of champagne, staring out the window, deep in thought. Joe heaved long sigh beside me and tightened his grip around my waist as we remained quiet, listening to the happy chatter of the other men around the room.
I stared down at the bottle clutched in my hand, letting out a sigh of my own. Talbert was right. This is like a funeral. The war is nearing its end and we're going to get to go home… but our friends are still dead. This war has taken countless lives, soldiers and civilians alike. And for what? Hitler is dead and the German army is hopeless now. We're both going to go our separate ways and have to live with the casualties that we've inflicted on one another.
I stared unblinkingly out at the pink sunset, finally allowing myself to truly grieve the loss of my friends. So many of them had lost their lives in this bloody war. Others were forever changed by it… Bill and Toye had lost their legs and would never truly be themselves again, Tipper had been severely wounded back in Carentan, Smokey had been paralyzed… even our tough leader Buck Compton had broken down during our stint in Bastogne.
Thinking of Muck and Penkala in particular made me feel queasy. Whenever I recalled their faces it felt as if someone was sitting on my chest, not allowing me to breathe. It is still surreal to me that they're gone. I will never get to see Muck's smiling face again or hear one of Penk's lame jokes…
They're gone. Erased. Just like that.
Unable to hold it back anymore, I let out the quietest of whimpers, pressing my hand hard against my mouth to muffle the sobs. I waited a moment to see if the others had noticed but I was met with silence. I stole a glance at Joe who was looking down at me understandingly. A single tear rolled down my face as I met his eyes and he wordlessly pulled me into his arms, allowing me to sob against his chest as the growing crowd of men chattered cheerily around the room.
I felt as if I was being swallowed whole by the joyful ignorance around me, all the happiness. Everyone else celebrated victory and triumph but all I could think of is what it cost us to get here… who it cost us.
Joe didn't ask me what was wrong or press me to talk about it. He already knew. So did Shifty and Talb. They just remained still, each sighing in mutual understanding as I sobbed on.
Joe rocked me gently as we tipsily watched the sun go down, finally allowing ourselves to inaudibly mourn the brothers we'd lost along the way.
… The Brothers that deserved to be drinking Hitler's champagne just as much as us… If not more.
May 8th 1945
Joe and I were quartered in a small house on the south end of town. It was pretty small, with only one bedroom, a bathroom and a small sitting area/kitchen on the main floor. Nevertheless, it was clean and tidy and the closest thing we'd had to an actual house in years. I fell in love with it instantly… I wanted to stay here with Joe forever, in our little house overlooking the mountains.
"You comfy Liebling?"
My eyes snapped open to see Joe standing in the doorway to our cramped room, shooting me one of my favourite lopsided grins.
"Yeah." I laughed, rubbing my eyes as I reluctantly sat up on the bed. "Sorry, I was just resting."
"No need to be sorry… I could 'a stood here watchin you all day." He smirked, giving me a soft peck on the lips. "They're serving lunch in the mess, figured you'd wanna get some food before it's all picked over."
"Good, I'm starving." I smiled, lacing my fingers through his as we made our way down the stairs and out our little abode.
I was actually going to be sad to leave this place behind. I could honestly picture us living here. Aside from the fact that this used to be a Nazi town… it was quite peaceful.
"Hey Sarge!" Skinny slurred, using his new nickname for me as he stumbled down the street towards us. "Hope you're up for some more champagne because it's what we're getting with lunch!" he draped his arm around me
"More champagne?" I laughed, seeing Joe shrug in response. "It's only 11:00 guys…"
"I'm still drunk from last night anyways." Skinny snorted, stumbling into the mess hall door as he pushed it open. "So what's another bottle gonna hurt?"
"Jeeeeus." I drawled, plunking myself down at an empty table. "Another bottle?! It might hurt a lot… look at you Skinny, you can barely even walk straight."
"Ah… I'll be fine." He waved me off, pouring me a glass of champagne sloppily. "There ya go."
"I think that's enough for you." I laughed, pulling the bottle over towards me as Skinny frowned, trying to grab it back.
"Lizzzzzz…" he whined, scrunching his face up as Joe took a huge drink from the bottle. "That was mine."
"Nurses Orders Skinny… lay off the liquor for a few hours. You're not going to be very useful if you have alcohol poisoning."
"I'd listen to her Skinny." Joe interjected, tipping back the bottle to tease him. "But, God is this stuff ever good."
"Dammit Liz." Skinny groaned, shooting me another pleading pout. "Come on…"
"Those puppy dog eyes aren't going to work on me Skinny but good try… let's get some food into you."
"Lieb… gimme my champagne back… for fuck sakes… I want to celebrate."
"Easy Company! Gather round over here!" Lipton called out to us suddenly, yelling to be heard over the chatter going on in the room. I turned to see a wide grin breaking out across his usually stern face as he prepared to address us. "I've got some good news!"
"See! He's got good news and I don't even have any champagne to go with it." Skinny grumbled as we all stood up and started to walk towards the foyer of the building, or stumble in Skinny's case. "God damn alcohol police..."
Oh Sisk… he's going to thank me later.
"What the hell's going on?" Joe asked nobody in particular. "What's so important that they gotta pull us all outta lunch…?"
We all pressed close together in front of Lipton, everyone crowding into the large hall at the front of the building. Joe draped his arm around my shoulder securely, scrunching his eyebrows together as we all waited to hear the news that Lipton had to deliver.
"What do you think is happening?" I whispered as he shrugged his shoulders slightly, tipping back the bottle of champagne he was holding before handing it off to me.
"Don't know Liebling."
"GOD! What is it Lip!?" my brother shouted out from the front of the crowd after a few minutes as we all craned our necks curiously. "You're killin us here!"
"It's over." Lipton's quiet voice rang out clearly across the crowd as some of the men started to murmur in question. "It's finally over!"
What does he mean it's over? What's over?
"The German army surrendered! The war in Europe is over boys!"
My breath hitched in my throat and tears gathered in my eyes as Joe tightened his grip around my shoulder wordlessly. Nobody in the room made a peep… we all just stood there staring in shock.
No more fighting, no more death… no more war. It was all really over…
"HAPPY VE DAY EASY COMPANY!" Lip smiled brightly at us. "HAPPY VICTORY IN EUROPE DAY!"
Playlist for Permanent
1. Animal I Have Become (Three Days Grace)
2. Hear You Me (Jimmy Eat World)
3. What I've Done (Linkin Park)
4. Vulnerable (Secondhand Serenade)
5. Fix You (Coldplay)
6. Say Something (A Great Big World)
7. 21 Guns (Green Day)
8. Bring me to Life (Evanescence)
9. Jar of Hearts (Christina Perri) **For James and Liz**
10. Into the Nothing (Breaking Benjamin)
11. Keep Holding On (Avril Lavigne)
12. A Thousand Years (Christina Perri)
13. The Reason (Hoobastank)
14. Collide (Howie Day)
15. Breaking the Habit (Linkin Park)
16. Like I'm Gonna Lose You (Meghan Trainor ft. John Legend)
17. Demons (Imagine Dragons)
18. My Immortal (Evanescence) I cry every time I listen to this one :(